The Science of Making Decisions

"The Twitterization of our culture has revolutionized our lives, but with an unintended consequence—our overloaded brains freeze when we have to make decisions."

‘Embedded Librarian’ on Twitter Served as Information Concierge for Class

"What if a reference librarian was assigned to a college course, to be on hand to suggest books, online links, or other resources based on class discussion? A media-studies course at Baylor University tried the idea last semester, with an 'embedded librarian' following the class discussion via Twitter."

Four of Five Colleges Check Applicants' Facebook Profiles

"Applying to college? Purge your Facebook profile a bit first because four out of five college admissions offices are checking out prospective students on the social network."

Google Cuts its Content Farm Subsidy

"An algorithm change in Google's search will affect almost 12% of searches by cutting out low quality content, or 'content farms.'"

Amazon Challenges Netflix and Hulu With Free Streaming for Prime Members

"Anticipated for more than a month, Amazon today announced that it is offering free streaming of movies and television shows to any of its Prime members, those who pay $79 per year to receive expedited shipping. More than 5,000 movies and TV shows are available to Amazon Prime members to stream on Mac and Windows PCs as well as almost 200 connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes."

10 Profound Innovations Ahead

"Here, we examine some of the hottest areas where researchers hope to forge a better tomorrow."

Cell Phone Radiation Alters Brain Activity, Study Shows

"Spending 50 minutes with a cell phone plastered to your ear is enough to change brain cell activity in the part of the brain closest to the antenna. But whether that causes any harm is not clear, scientists at the National Institutes of Health said on Tuesday, adding that the study will likely not settle recurring concerns of a link between cell phones and brain cancer."

Grading Essays: Humans vs. Machine

"At George Mason University Saturday, at the Fourth International Conference on Writing Research, the Educational Testing Service presented evidence that a pilot test of automated grading of freshman writing placement tests at the New Jersey Institute of Technology showed that computer programs can be trusted with the job."

Women, Young People Most Active Users of Social Media

"Women and young people are the most active users of social media today, and women in their 30s make up more than half of heavy contributors — that is, they engage in six or more social media activities."

One-Third of U.S. Households Lack Broadband Web Access

". . .a new telecommunications administration report, Digital Nation 2010, says that about one-third of U.S. households still lack a broadband internet connection. Furthermore, 5% to 10% of Americans only have access to internet services that are too slow to even support a basic set of online functions, such as downloading Web pages, photos or video." See also the Interactive National Broadband Map.

Website a Window into John F. Kennedy's Oval Office

"The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston has launched 'The President's Desk,' an interactive website that seats users at Kennedy's desk and displays multimedia presentations of aspects of his life and administration."

Broadband Map Shows Up to 10% in U.S. Lack Good Internet

"As many as one in 10 Americans can't get Internet connections that are fast enough for common tasks such as viewing photos, video and Web pages, and two thirds of schools have broadband connections that are too slow to meet their needs."

Apple, Google Make it Easier to Subscribe to Digital Media

"Apple and Google are making it easier for consumers to subscribe to digital media on an array of devices."

Global Data Storage Calculated at 295 Exabytes

"The study, published in the journal Science, calculates the amount of data stored in the world by 2007 as 295 exabytes. That is the equivalent of 1.2 billion average hard drives."

Internet Creators Ask Hackers for Help

"The military's technology research arm -- the same group that helped create the Internet in the early 70s -- is asking hackers for help keeping it secure."

Google Earth Reveals Lost Tombs in Saudi Arabian Desert

"Satellite images available via the Web-based 3-D map program show that large portions of the country hold a wealth of archaeological remains that predate Islam and may be several thousand years old."

'Kill Switch' Internet Bill Alarms Privacy Experts

"Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics."

Snow Days Virtually Eliminated with Web Tools

"Despite winter storms that forced schools and colleges across the nation to cancel classes, tech-savvy educators are turning to Facebook, podcasts and other Web tools to keep students on track."

2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal

"Technologist Raymond Kurzweil has a radical vision for humanity's immortal future."

Gartner: 1.6 Billion Mobile Device Sales in 2010, Smartphones up 72 Percent

"A recent report released by technology research and business insight company Gartner revealed worldwide mobile device sales to end users grew to 1.6 billion units in 2010, up 31.8 percent from 2009. Furthermore, smartphone sales increased by 72.1 percent from 2009 and accounted for 19 percent of all mobile device sales in 2010."

Study: Latinos Trail in the Digital Divide

"Latinos are the United States' fastest growing minority, but they trail in the digital divide because of lower income and educational levels, according to a study released on Wednesday."

7 Best Apps for Filing Taxes on SmartPhones

"Tax season is upon us, and these 7 smartphone apps will make doing Uncle Sam's paperwork a little less ... taxing."

Disruption, Delivery and Degrees

"Author who popularized idea that technological innovation disrupts industries' established powers applies theory to higher education -- with warning to traditional colleges."

Cellphone Security Threats Rise Sharply: McAfee

"Cellphone security threats rose sharply last year as a proliferation of Internet-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets provided new opportunities for cybercriminals, security software maker McAfee (MFE.N) said."

ID Theft Down 28 Percent U.S. in 2010 - Survey

"The number of victims of identity theft dropped by more than a quarter in the United States last year, the largest annual fall on record, but individual victims lost more money on average than ever before."

U.S. Catholic Church Blesses iPhone App for Confession

"The U.S. Catholic Church has apparently given its blessing to an iPhone app aimed at helping Catholics with confession, Reuters reports."

Higher Education Teaching and Learning Portal

"More than 6,000 participants from around the world seek and share advice about best classroom practices."

Super Bowl Ads Live On at YouTube and Facebook

"This year, though, there are some new wrinkles. YouTube will run its Ad Blitz contest for the fourth year, but for the first time, it will have a mobile Ad Blitz site. People can vote on ads immediately after the game, and the winning ad will appear on YouTube’s home page a week later."

Survey: 44% of Verizon Android Users Likely to Switch to iPhone

"Drawing from a pool of 4.7 million panelists, uSamp asked a sample of 700 AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) smartphone owners how likely they were to switch to Verizon's version of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone next Thursday, Feb. 10, the first day it goes on sale."

Calibre: Open Source Software for Managing eBook Collections

"Calibre allows you to convert content from various internet sources such as Project Gutenberg into the appropriate format for your e-reader, whether it is a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony, or something else."

'The Daily' Launches on iPad for 99 Cents a Week

"News Corp. launched its most ambitious effort yet to re-invent the way news is delivered and consumed with the introduction Wednesday of The Daily— the first national news publication designed specifically for Apple's iPad."

Hulu Plus Set to Hit 1 Million Subscribers

"Hulu Plus, the video subscription plan that charges $8 a month to watch a range of TV shows online, will have 1 million paying customers this year and post annual revenue of more than $200 million, according to Hulu's chief executive Jason Kilar."

85 Percent of US Adults Own Cellphone: Survey

"Mobile phones are the most popular gadget among adult Americans followed by computers, digital music players, game consoles and electronic book readers, according to a new survey."

Depletion of Internet Addresses Reflects Wired World

"Thirty years after the first Internet addresses were created, the supply of addresses officially ran dry on Thursday."

Report: 90% of Americans own a Computerized Gadget

"According to a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project, nearly 90% of Americans now own a cell phone, computer, MP3 player, game console, e-book reader or tablet computer."

Video Will Dominate Mobile Data Traffic by 2015, Forecast Says

"According to a new Cisco forecast, in just four years two-thirds of the world's mobile data traffic will be video."